Japan Could Eat More Texas Beef

Texas ranchers are applauding Japan’s move to ease restrictions on U.S. beef. Japan will allow imports of meat from American cattle aged 30 months or younger, instead of the current 20 months, according to a statement from the U.S. government.

"We could not import certain cuts of beef from them. And a lot of these cuts were cuts like short ribs and short plates, which is not very popular here in the United States. And also tongues," he said.

Even so, higher demand for U.S. beef might result in higher prices for American consumers. Shortly after the news was announced, cattle futures surged to their highest level in six months, Bloomberg News reported.

Texas ranchers are coping with a shortage of cattle brought about by the drought. Earlier this month, Cargill announced plans to idle one of its large beef processing facilities in the Panhandle.